WATKINS GLEN – Sunday afternoon’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen offers the chance at twice the payoff for some top road course guys whose NASCAR Sprint Cup playoff hopes are still up in the air.

Last year, AJ Allmendinger used his victory at Watkins Glen International to qualify for the 16-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup field. With Allmendinger and the likes of Kasey Kahne, five-time race winner Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, Kyle Larson and Sam Hornish Jr. winless this season, it could lead to some interesting racing Sunday.

“This is definitely one of the last, I would say, sort of wild-card races,” said Jeff Gordon, a four-time winner at Watkins Glen. “You think of restrictor plates and races on road courses as being a wild card of somebody that maybe you wouldn’t necessarily expect to be able to find their way into (the Chase).”

Gordon is also winless this year, but at 10th in points he’s a safe bet to make the Chase even if doesn’t break through for a victory. Bowyer and Kahne hold spots 14 and 15, but one of them will be on the outside looking in by the end of the weekend if Kyle Busch breaks into the top 30 and another winless driver takes the checkered flag.

Busch suffered a broken leg and foot during a crash at the season-opening Xfinity Series race at Daytona, sidelining him for the first 11 races of the Cup season. He has moved within 13 points of 30th place in the points after winning four of the last six races. He needs to finish in the top 30 to be eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Five races remain before the field is set for the playoff, which takes place over the final 10 races of the season. There have been 11 different winners this season, so anyone who breaks into the winner’s column this weekend would secure a Chase berth as long as they end up in the top 30 in points.

“There are no guarantees unless you get that win,” Gordon said. “That win means so much. I feel like we are doing what we need to do from a point standings point of view. It’s important to us, if we can’t win this race, to be really solid again. ... Our goal is to win.”

Gordon was the fastest driver during final practice Friday afternoon, turning in a top lap of 1:09.267 (average speed of 127.333 miles per hour) in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. He was followed in the top five by Larson (127.049), Biffle (126.987), Kyle Busch (126.837) and Joey Logano (126.720).

Bowyer was fastest in Friday’s first practice with an average speed of 127.067 mph, with Allmendinger second at 126.901 mph and Jimmie Johnson third. Allmendinger was 28th in the afternoon session.

Group qualifying on the 2.45-mile course starts at 1:15 p.m. Saturday, with the 90-lap race set for 2 p.m. Sunday. Qualifying will include two rounds, with all 44 cars competing in the initial 25-minute session. The top 12 cars advance to the 10-minute final round to determine starting positions for the first six rows. The race will include 43 cars.

Gordon started on the pole position in last year’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen. Electrical problems during the race took him out of contention.

Allmendinger said competition will be intense Sunday, but added that’s no different than any other week in the series.

“The thing I’ve learned about the Sprint Cup Series is it doesn’t matter whether somebody needs a win or not,” he said. “If the opportunity is there, he or she is going to go out there to do whatever they can to get the win. It’s no different than last year.”

Allmendiger enters the weekend more of a target after two-time race winner Marcos Ambrose left the series following last season.

“I kind of laugh because everybody initially said, ‘Oh, Marcos isn’t here. This should be easy for you,’ ” Allmendinger said. “I’m like, ‘I’m not sure if you guys remember Jeff Gordon was leading when he broke.’

“There are a lot of great race car drivers and you can’t just single one or two of them that are going to be tough. It makes it a lot of fun. I know I have to go out there and be on my ‘A’ game to have a shot to win this thing.”

Busch’s recent surge includes a victory at the series’ other road course, Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, at the end of June.

“I’m really optimistic about being here this weekend and hopefully carrying that road course momentum through to Watkins Glen,” he said.

Stewart is set to compete at Watkins Glen for the first time in three years. As he was out for final practice, news broke that the family of Kevin Ward Jr. filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Stewart. On Aug. 9 of last year, Stewart struck and killed Ward after Ward exited his sprint car during a race at Canandaigua Motorsports Park following an earlier incident involving the drivers. A grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against Stewart.

Stewart missed the 2013 race at Watkins Glen after breaking his leg at a sprint car race at Southern Iowa Speedway